Yogwarts and the Philosopher's Stone
by CatherineKat
Summary: Co Authored fic - Yogcast at Hogwarts, mostly in place of original characters. Main Yogcast characters: Lewis, Hannah, Nilesy, Rythian, Zoey, Simon, Duncan, Kim, Turps, Sjin (moderate strong language)
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Not J.K Rowling. Not the Yogscast. Not anyone with any claims to anything you recognise.**

**A.N: **Here is the prologue to _a co authored ( hence italics and normal) fic we're doing our best to write, but it is going to take about a million and two years (possibly more) so please be nice about that. _This prologue is basically just a taste of what's going on and we've put it up to see what interest there is in it (we'll write it anyway) and to see if any of you lot have any ideas that you'd like us to include.

I'm leidineht _and I'm CatherineKat so depending where you're reading this, it's on one or other of our accounts_. Hope you enjoy! _Please review , let us know your thoughts etc. _

_Hope we put something up soonish,_

_CatherineKat _and leidineht

**YOGWARTS AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE**

Prologue

Both the post and Hannah arrived downstairs early that morning. She'd woken long before Duncan, as she was prone to do, and had run down to put the letters on the table as usual. Oddly enough, there were two identical envelopes addressed to herself and to her brother. Their names and absurdly accurate addresses were stated in green ink. Hannah tore her's open and out fell a letter, a couple of lists and a train ticket. Skimming the letter as she dashed up the stairs, she burst into Duncan's room and hit the sleeping boy, none too gently, on the arm.

"Meuurrrggghhh…" Duncan groaned into his pillow. "Fuck off, I'm trying to sleep."

"Watch your mouth, Duncan Rutherford-Jones! Anyway, you should really be up - the postman has already been and gone."

Duncan groaned louder and buried his head further into the pillow.

"Wake up, you idiot! There are important letters for us and no, they really can't wait."

"What are they…?" Duncan was beginning to come round and his curiosity has been mildly piqued. He outstretched an arm for his letter, rolled over in bed and read it (squinting all the while as he couldn't be bothered to retrieve his glasses from their place on his desk). When he had finished, he looked over at Hannah, "Guess we have something we'd better tell Mum and Dad then…"

On the other side of Europe, a large tawny owl flew through an open window, narrowly missing the large purple drapes, into the eleven year old boy's bedroom. The boy looked up and smiled a little at the bird as he took the letter from its talons, "Thanks, Teep." He opened it slowly, fingers trembling slightly, as he wasn't sure whether Hogwarts would accept him, him being only half British and living in Sweden. But he was also sure that he could never attend Durmstrang with its reputation for Dark Magic. The letter yielded what he had wished for, though, and the usually sombre boy had a smile at the edge of his lips as he padded swiftly down the winding basalt stairs to tell his parents the good news.

It was an excited scream that woke Zoey's parents on July 31st. Only, of course, they didn't know it was an _excited_ scream and rushed down the stairs to find their daughter, still clad in her mushroom pyjamas, rocking backward and forwards in front of the door, a slightly crumpled letter clutched tightly in her hands. Once they'd read the letter, her parents glanced at each other over Zoey's head. Finally, all the odd "occurrences" made sense. The children who always treated her differently, the way she could always reach presents kept safely out of reach and sight, and the way furniture shook when she was particularly upset. Their minds were made up in that instant that she should go.

"Waaaaaayyyy!" The boy grabbed his purple hoody from the hook on the door and ran to meet the family owl at the end of the drive, pulling his fingers through his gelled hair as he went. He reached her and she settled down on his shoulder. A shout came from the house, "Mark, you know that you don't have to run to meet her - she's perfectly capable of arriving by herself..."

"Yes yes yes, I know, but she has a letter for me!" Mark took the envelope from the owl and beamed as he read the green inked address. He ripped the letter open and grinned wolfishly as he yelled, "I'm going to Hogwarts!" as he sped back up the drive.

"Lewis! The post is here!"

"Coming, Mum!"

The scrawny, bespectacled boy put his book down and walked downstairs, stretching a little. His mum was smiling at him as he reached the kitchen table so he wasn't particularly surprised to see the parchment envelope sitting next to his breakfast plate.

He opened it: 'We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

He grinned and began to open his mouth but was interrupted by his mother - "Yes, you can ring Simon. But be quick! Your toast is nearly done, oh, and there's a new pot of honey in the cupboard."

Simon grabbed the phone and punched in his best friend's number. As Lewis answered, Simon yelled into the receiver, "CONGRATULAAAAAAAAAATIONS!" He chuckled as he heard his friend wince.

"I was just about to call you, friend. You got yours then?"

"No, I'm a squib. Of course I've got it, Lewis."

"Excited?"

"What do you think? Lewis, we're going to Hogwarts! Magic and fun and adventure. You won't need to always add 'citation needed' whenever you come out with a dubiously accurate magical trivia anymore! You might actually know things for a fact!"

"Thanks… Friend. Well, when do you want to go to Diagon Alley to get all our school stuff?"

The two boys discussed their plans for the remainder of the summer and Simon rang off, feeling very excited about September.

Kim's letter arrived during breakfast and, as if to give truth to its contents, upon reading it, she made every single one of the full blue and white china bowls rise a full foot into the air and then gracefully flip, spilling the cereal onto the neat patterned table cloth. Her parents read it several times trying to make sense of it, but it made perfect sense ot her. There were other people like her! People to whom her "powers" didn't make her "odd" (mum), "freaky" (most other kids) or possessed by demons (her much loved but slightly eccentric grandmother). This was a place she'd fit in.

"Oi, mam! I'm goin' tah Hogwarts!"

"What's Hogwarts?"

"It's a scheul!"

"Yer goin' tah the one down the road, aren't yeh?"

"No! This is a scheul fer magic. I'm magic, mam!"

"Liam, what are yer on aboot?"

"Come an' have a leuk at this letter!"

"What letter?"

"The one that I got this morning telling me that I've been accepted tah Hogwarts!"

"Liam, I've got no time fer yer nonsense today."

"But mam! Leuk!"

Naturally, his letter didn't come as a surprise (to anyone but himself). As a member of one of the oldest and proudest wizarding families in Britain, frankly it would have been far more noticeable and embarrassing had he _not _received an envelope addressed in green ink at the end of his eleventh summer. His mother would have been horrified and so, it was with a great sigh of relief that the dungaree-clad boy laid his parchment envelope beside the other post next to his father's place at the table. He'd done as was to be expected; he would not be a disappointment this time.

And so the new first years of Hogwarts received their letters and were accepted into the magical community as students of Witchcraft and Wizardry...


	2. Chapter 1 - Diagon Alley (Zoey)

**Disclaimer: Not J.K Rowling. Not the Yogscast. Not anyone with any claims to anything you recognise.**

**Author's Note: **_Hey guys, so a little short of a million and two years but not so far off. _It has been a bit of a challenge getting this out _(for me, not for you). We're writing this author's note at quarter to eleven and this is meant to go out tomorrow evening with 600 words still to go. _However, we have a kind of plan and the second chapter is already going into third draft so that'll be out on time. We're going to try and aim for every two weeks but that is going to be pretty erratic until we get used to this _(which will be sometime in the realm of never.)_ I hope you enjoy CatherineKat's wonderful first chapter. 

_CatherineKat and _leidineht

**YOGWARTS AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE**

**Chapter One**

Diagon Alley

Zoey

Zoey had never been to London by herself before but the letter had said quite clearly that, until she had a wand of her own, she wouldn't be able to take her parents into the wizarding parts of the city with her. This had all seemed fine, up to the point where she found herself in the middle of a busy street, looking for a pub that no one else could apparently see.

Professor McGonagall (whoever she was) had said firmly, in that weird green ink, that no non-magical people would be able to see the "Leaky Cauldron" and so there would be absolutely no point asking any of them for help. That was fine, but for some reason, Zoey couldn't see it either.

It was at least twenty minutes before she noticed a large group of red-heads talking at the top of their voices, though none of them seemed to be listening to any of the others.

"Ickle Ronnikins, a first year!"

"What _is _the world coming to, Gred?"

"I'm quite sure I don't know, Forge, I mean-"

"Be quiet, the both of you! Now… Which books does Ron need that we haven't already got?"

Having heard enough to be certain that these would be sensible people to follow, Zoey walked behind them towards a door she couldn't imagine how she'd missed before. Slipping through it, she looked around for anyone who might have been able to tell her where to go next.

Inside, the pub was larger than she'd expected, if somewhat dusty. The few patrons mostly seemed to be ignoring each other and Zoey felt rather out of place, standing just inside the doorway, completely unable to see where she should go or what she should do next.

The helpful red haired family had completely vanished and she looked around wildly until the man behind the bar smiled at her. He beckoned her out of a door behind the bar she was certain she'd also never have spotted and led her through to a small courtyard behind the building. Walking up to an old wall that didn't seem particularly magical, he tapped on the slightly cracked bricks in an order she was sure she'd never remember. He waved her through, telling her to ask for "Old Tom" if she ever got lost. Thanking him profusely, Zoey peered through the gap into the incredibly busy street in front of her.

At first glance, Diagon Alley could have been a perfectly ordinary street. But, looking closer, Zoey soon saw that this couldn't have been further from the truth. Instead of jeans in the windows of the clothes shops there were robes, the animals in the pet shop seemed rather unusual and some of the books a shop display appeared to be… moving?

Shaking her head, Zoey searched through her bag for the list that had come with her letter. Professor McGonagall had said the first thing that she needed to do was exchange money at Gringotts and, as the tall marble building was the only one she recognised as something that could have been a bank, she saw no reason to deviate from this plan.

As she neared the bank, Zoey noticed something odd about the people who seemed to work there. She'd thought it was merely the distance and her height that had made them seem small but they hadn't really got any bigger as she got closer. More confusing still, whilst they had humanoid features, they had green skin. One, catching her watching him, glared at her so fiercely that she jumped backwards.

Onto someone else's toes. Leaping forward again, she turned to apologise, only to find a tall boy with purple eyes (who appeared to be completely unbothered by the pain she was certain she'd caused him) looking down at her.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorr-"

"No, no, it is fine, although it has been a while since Bogrod scared anyone quite like that; I'm sure he'll be delighted."

He had a fairly strong accent that Zoey couldn't place. He indicated for her to enter the building and then followed her in.

"You must be a muggle born, right? I'm guessing from your encounter with Bogrod that you are a first year and haven't changed your money yet."

Zoey nodded as a mute answer as he lead her towards a short line of people who mostly looked as confused as she felt.

"I am Rythian, by the way. I'm starting Hogwarts this year too."

"Oh, yes, I'm Zoey." She smiled at him, as she exchanged the money her parents had given to her into a large pouch that rattled as she shook it.

"Would you like me to accompany you to get the rest of the items on your list? Diagon Alley can be rather disconcerting, particularly on your first visit."

The invitation was all Zoey needed for her curiosity to get the better of her. "Oh, yes, please! There are so many people! Are all of them Hogwarts students? What's Hogwarts like? Have you been there before? What does Professor McGonagall mean by "the houses"?"

Rythian smiled at her, albeit in a slightly confused manner, and Zoey noticed the unusual colour of his eyes again as he walked beside her to the door that lead back into the madness of Diagon Alley.

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?"

"Sorry, I-"

"Don't worry, it's fine, let's see… Mostly students, yes, and some parents, this weekend is always crazy here; no, I haven't ever been to Hogwarts, but my older friends have told me it's wonderful, if manic and a bit on the dangerous side for a school."

"Dangerous?" Zoey hadn't really encountered a dangerous _school _before, she thought as Rythian continued, only dangerous children in one.

"Oh, only a little, I would not worry about it, if I were you."

"What are the houses?"

"Oh right, so there are four houses, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff-"

"_Hufflepuff?" _Zoey's eyes widened as she turned to look at Rythian. These were the first words she'd heard that were so completely alien to her, so different from the non-magical ones she was used to and she found it just a little disconcerting.

"That's the only one which sounded odd to you?"

"Well, no, but…"

"Traditionally speaking, Ravenclaw is where the generally intelligent people are –"

"Ow!"

Zoey had been so busy listening that she'd failed to notice three children of about their age exiting the pet shop and, in stopping herself from running into them, had fallen down onto the pavement. Thankfully for her dignity, the mildly dishevelled boy in goggles on the left was the only one who noticed her, the other two being far too busy chatting, presumably, about the owl and cat they were clutching.

"Are you alright?" Rythian looked mildly worried.

"Fine, fine…" She stood up and brushed herself down as they continued down the street. "So, Ravenclaw?"

"Oh, yes, those who prioritise learning and knowledge and such … Ah, here we are."

They'd arrived at a dark shop, with an ornate sign above it on which was painted the word 'Ollivander's', set far back from the street that seemed hardly big enough to fit both of them inside. Zoey was grateful to see a tiny Asian girl clutching a thin green box leaving as they arrived; she couldn't see any way they'd all have fit inside without bursting out of the grimy windows.

A wizened looking old man, presumably Mr Ollivander, appeared from a, previously impossible to see, back room and walked towards them. He seemed to recognise Rythian vaguely but clearly wasn't too happy to see him. Keeping his back firmly to the wall, he shook Zoey's hand and nodded stiffly towards her companion.

"First year?"

When Zoey nodded he almost smiled at her. Summoning a box similar to the one she'd seen the small girl carrying out of the shop, he beckoned for her to approach the counter.

"Now, you try that; just give it a little wave."

A stream of tiny purple sparkles flew out of it.

"Look Rythian! It's _magic_! I never ever want to stop!"Zoey kept on waving it excitedly; she thought that she might have heard a laugh from her serious companion.

Mr Ollivander cut in, clearly unwilling to have the nonsense continue much longer. "It's a good wand, Miss…?"

"Proasheck."

"Miss Proasheck. Alder wood with crushed mushroom stalks from Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest. It should serve you well."

Zoey took it up to the counter and paid for it with a handful of the coins from her pouch (the gold ones were called Galleons and those were the ones she needed for a wand according to Rythian), still bouncing up and down in glee.

Reminding her that she couldn't use it until they got to Hogwarts, Rythian stepped forwards, towards the shopkeeper. "Might I try now?"

Mr Ollivander nodded and brought down three wands that he indicated might be suitable, if relatively reluctantly. The first was thin and appeared to be made of some kind of wood that was almost smouldering. Rythian wouldn't even touch it. If Zoey hadn't been standing behind him, she was fairly sure he'd have backed away straight out of the shop. She smiled at the shop keeper and pointed to the other boxes.

"Are either of those going to do that? Only, I don't think he liked that one."

The wand maker looked thoughtful for a second and then reached for an old, dusty looking box from behind the counter. It didn't look as though anyone had touched it since it was made, let alone considered buying it.

"Perhaps this one then? If you can wield it, you'll be one of a very few number to whom it wouldn't do harm."

Rythian picked it out of the box and waved through the air with what seemed like no effort at all. A low rumbling noise came from the long stick and, in slightly less than the time it took for Zoey to blink, Rythian was on the other side of the room.

"Oh my- gosh!"

Mr Ollivander looked very thoughtful as he allowed Rythian to pay and ushered them to the door. As they left he nodded to Rythian in an almost friendly fashion.

"Nothing like your mother then, eh?

Zoey looked at him curiously but he shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. Honestly. Where do you want to go next?" His purple eyes seemed brighter since the mention of his mother, although his manner had become much more sombre and Zoey was unsure whether she liked this side of the new boy or not.

"Erm, robes maybe?"

"Fair enough. Let's go. It's this way."

Madam Malkin's wasn't so very far from the wand shop and they got there in no time at all, Zoey still asking endless questions about Hogwarts and anything to do with the wizarding world in general.

"So wait, there are_ unicorns?!_" Again, the differences between her world and the one she'd found herself thrown into slapped her the face slightly. When, she thought to herself, you grow up being told all the wonderful things in books simply don't exist, it was bizarre to suddenly be surrounded by people to whom they were all utterly normal.

"Yes but- oh look Zoey, we're here. What a shame. We can carry on with this later, yes?"

"Fiiine."

They walked together into a slightly fussy looking shop where the poor lady in charge was being run ragged by a snotty blond boy accompanied by his doting mother. Madam Malkin (as Zoey assumed she was) looked extremely panicked as they entered until Rythian motioned that they'd sort themselves out.

He led Zoey towards a rack of black robes. "You get given your house badges when we're sorted, and your ties and all that, so don't worry about those"

Having selected robes for the both of them, they waited patiently while the rude boy before them decided that the shop didn't have _exactly_ what he was looking for and swept out, his mother in tow. Poor Madam Malkin looked ready to drop and they did their best not to bother her too much, just paid and left, she didn't even look surprised by Rythian's eyes (and a _lot_ of people had been noticing those) or the fact that Zoey couldn't quite stop herself from hopping up and down manically and hugging her wand box, whilst squeaking quietly.

"Is there anywhere else we have to go?"

"Books, I guess? Or pets?"

"_Unicorns?"_

"_No. _No unicorns, okay?"

"Oh, but _unicorns_!"

"Books then."

Wandering back down the narrow alley, Zoey decided now was the time to ask Rythian about his accent and/or home. Also, why Mr Ollivander had been so suspicious of him. Once again, he brushed her off. He told her it wasn't relevant or important. By the time she had thought of any vaguely convincing arguments as to why it could be important, they'd reached the bookshop and Rythian made her be quiet so that they wouldn't disturb the other patrons. Quite frankly anything in that shop would have made her be quiet since it was full of books she had never seen before (and some of them seemed more like animals than books.) Edging slowly away from the things that bit, she headed towards the section marked 'First Years' in nice, friendly, large letters. Rythian quickly swooped in and attempted to pick up two of every book they were supposed to have whilst Zoey lingered behind flicking through anything that she could find that seemed vaguely magical.

"Wait, Jane Austen was a witch?"

"Well, yes, maybe, I didn't live in England when she did, I don't know. We don't live that long, you know, Zoey."

Rythian headed towards the desk with Zoey following him, repeatedly asking questions such as: "Wait, we're not immortal; I wanted to see the Space Age!", "Can we time travel…? and "What do you mean we don't live _that_ long? How long do we live?"

Having completely ignored her, in a way that surprisingly didn't upset or annoy her, Rythian carried on into the street carrying both of their books.

"There's only one shop left and then we can go and get ice cream, if you want?"

"Is it _magical _ice cream?" Zoey was unsure how ice cream _could _be magical but so many usually perfectly normal things had been surprising or confusing her today that she thought it best to ask and, besides, who would want to miss out on the chance to eat magical ice cream?

Rythian's forehead crinkled as he took in her question and handed her her stack of books. "I don't know… How would you tell?"

She thought long and hard as they continued down the street, weaving their way through the crowds of children and their parents, but failed to come up with anything particularly plausible. "Where else do we need to go?"

"The potions shop, it's just here, see?"

Zoey did indeed see; it was simultaneously the most normal looking shop they'd been into so far and the least normal. Many of the items in it could have been non magical and provided you only glanced quickly through them, you wouldn't notice, for instance, the collection of cauldrons or way the scales shone slightly oddly in the light from the surprisingly clean window.

Rythian checked his list again and then gathered the objects they required as Zoey, once again, followed behind, picking up things she didn't recognise and asking Rythian to explain them to her.

"It says glass _or _crystal, which is better?"

"Erm, I have my father's crystal ones but I do not expect that first year potions would have any kind of reaction to either, really."

Nodding, she picked up the glass ones and, impressively, only nearly dropped them once on their way to the lady behind the till, who kindly pretended not to notice. Rythian merely raised his eyebrows at her.

"Oh shh, they're fine, see?"

"Fair enough. Now, is there anything else you want to see, or are you happy to head for ice cream?"

"The possibly magic ice cream?" Zoey grinned up at him, taking some bags from him in an attempt to balance him out as he seemed to be leaning slightly to the left.

"That's the one: Florean Fortescue's. It's over there, behind the broom shop, can you see it?"

They headed towards what had to be the smallest shop Zoey had seen all day, even compared to Ollivander's. However, unlike the wand shop, the ice cream parlour was painted brightly, well lit and extremely welcoming. Once inside, they were immediately shown to a little table in the window and Zoey noticed, once again, how much bigger the shop felt on the inside. She chuckled suddenly, wondering how Rythian would take being compared to a character from a muggle television program and decided she'd find out another day, the menu was just too enticing.

"You know, I think it must be magic ice cream, I've never seen so many flavours… What's popping candy ice cream like?"

Rythian glanced up from the menu he'd been reading and shrugged. "I've no idea, you could try it though, that normally helps people work out what things taste like."

Zoey stuck her tongue out at him and went back to her very important decisions.

Twenty minutes later they walked out of the pink door, Rythian perfectly tidy whilst Zoey's face was covered in a light dusting of pink sugar which made quiet popping noises whenever one of the few drops of rain beginning to fall from the grey sky hit her face. Stopping outside the wall back into the Leaky Cauldron, Rythian smiled at her and gestured towards the pub.

"This is you then?"

Zoey nodded, unsure of what the correct etiquette was. Did she hug him? She couldn't imagine how that would go down. Maybe shake his hand? Too formal. Urgh, people were difficult.

Thankfully, as she finished this train of thought, Tom called through the window to tell her that she'd better get in if she didn't want to be completely soaked.

"So, I will see you on the train, yes?" The boy with the strange purple eyes smiled slightly.

She nodded again, walking backwards towards the warmth of the tiny building. "I'll see you again soon!"


	3. Chapter 2 - The Journey (Lewis)

**Disclaimer: Not J.K Rowling. Not the Yogscast. Not anyone with any claims to anything you recognise.**

**Author's Note: **_Hey so we're early again which is entirely leidineht's fault because they insist on having things written on time. Damn them and their organisational skills. _Yeah, well, I'm on holiday for two and a half weeks after tonight so a chapter needed to go up now. The next one after this will be a little bit later (like three weeks from now) because of the holiday _and my organisational skills or lack thereof._

_Quick question: would any of you be interested in holiday specific short fits related to Yogwarts and the main fic?_

Thanks for reading! _See you vaguely soonish,_

_CatherineKat and _leidineht

**YOGWARTS AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE**

**Chapter Two**

The Journey

Lewis

"Thanks, friend!"

Lewis sighed as he hefted his best friend's trunk from the back of the car as well as his own. Simon was smirking, his short, ginger hair sticking up in all directions and, not for the first time, Lewis wondered, aloud, why he ever stuck around. Simon was unfazed, however, and so the two of them, after saying farewell to their parents in a show of independence, set off to the station, Simon joking around as usual. Lewis felt a little more subdued; nervous at the prospect of starting a new school with new people (other than, of course, Simon who had been his best friend for as long as he could remember, due to them being the only magical children living anywhere near each other.)

As they entered King's Cross Station, Lewis knew they must make a funny sight, pushing their trunks in trollies in front of them: the scrawny, bespectacled boy (often mistaken for the famous Harry Potter whom Simon was relishing the prospect of teasing when they got to Hogwarts, as they had heard he was going to be in their year) and the shorter, ginger boy who was grinning at everyone they passed, much to their surprise and discomfort. The duo took it steadily through the station as Lewis had ensured that they would have plenty of time to get their bearings and grab a compartment on the train before they all filled up.

As they reached the barrier between Platform 9 and 10 (Lewis had checked his tickets for the platform number very carefully and also read up on how to get onto Platform 9 and ¾, as he suspected that Simon wouldn't have bothered), Simon nudged Lewis. "Look, Lewis! Mudbloods in their natural habitat!"

Lewis elbowed him in the ribs at that, hard, because, although he knew his friend was joking, it was a pretty terrible thing to say all the same.

The subject of Simon's mild scorn was a boy and a girl hovering around the barrier, looking very lost. Lewis knew that they were twins immediately: they had the same vibrant strawberry-blonde hair, the same large blue eyes and were of a height. However, whilst the girl was scanning the crowd and clutching (what Lewis thought was) a large short-eared owl in a cage, the boy was scowling and restlessly pacing behind her, a pair of goggles nestled in his tousled mop of hair.

Owl Hat noticed them staring and lifted an eyebrow. Lewis looked away quickly but by then the girl was already coming over, dragging Goggles by his arm. Lewis shifted and kicked Simon's calf but Simon's grin had already begun to broaden as the twins approached.

"Excuse me, but are you getting the eleven o'clock train?" Her voice seemed quite deep, with a slightly mocking tone to it.

Lewis started to speak but Simon jumped in. "Yeah, I guess you're a first year as well? Allow me to show you the way to get onto the platform…"

Lewis stood watching as Simon walked away with the girl, obviously explaining what was going to happen, before looking around to check if any Muggles were watching, and then running towards the barrier, her just behind him, seemingly unafraid.

They disappeared and Lewis heard a sharp intake of breath from the boy that he had forgotten was standing beside him. Lewis felt rather gratified by the fact that Goggles face had switched from a scowl to an expression of shock. "Where has she gone?"

"Through the barrier onto Platform 9 and ¾."

"_Through_ the barrier?"

Lewis grinned. "I'll show you. Just get your trolley, check that there aren't any Muggles watching - that's non-magical people, by the way - and then run towards the barrier and you'll be on the platform."

Lewis wheeled his trolley around and started to run, the blond boy following behind him, more than mildly confused. They broke through the barrier into a cacophony of noise and, as Lewis saw the ornate sign above them reading, "Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock", all the excitement that had been building up inside him since getting his letter exploded into reality as he yelled to the blond boy, "Race you to a compartment!" and sped off in the direction of the train, Goggles already hot on his heels.

As Lewis reached an empty compartment, he nearly crashed into a large family, all of whom had flaming red hair, much brighter than Simon's gingery fluff. He gasped an apology and dragged his trunk up and into the empty compartment, struggling to get it into the storage. Thankfully, Goggles had arrived by then and so the two boys were able to help each other with their luggage; they then collapsed onto the seats, mutually grinning and panting.

"I'm Lewis, by the way." Lewis proffered a hand to the other boy, perhaps a little pompously, but the other shook it nevertheless.

"Duncan. That was insane!" Goggles collapsed back into his chair and began to laugh, mildly manically, which caused two other students in the corridor, one in dungarees and one in a purple hoodie, to look rather nervous and hurry along at a greater speed.

"God, Duncan. You couldn't act vaguely sensibly for once, could you?" It was Owl Hat, followed by a very flushed Simon. As she put both of their trunks up into the storage, she introduced herself. "I'm Hannah and that's my idiot brother, Duncan. And you are…?" She sat down, owl nestled on her lap, eyebrows raised at Lewis as the train began to move off from the station, leaving parents waving and shouting in its wake.

Before Lewis could speak, there was a knock at the compartment door and Owl Hat had moved, giving a shriek of excitement, to fling her arms around the figure standing there.

The boy at the door had large pale glasses and lots of, almost shoulder length, black hair, carrying a large ginger cat, but his most defining feature was the broad Scottish accent that flooded out of his mouth when he spoke: "Mind if I join yeh?"

Lewis and Simon both shrugged but Lewis noticed that the scowl had rematerialised on Goggles' face at the Scottish boy's appearance. Scottish Boy sat down awkwardly next to Owl Hat, his cat cradled on his lap.

"Is Mr Cat alright?"

Goggles snorted. "Mr Cat…"

Owl Hat glared at him.

"So…" Simon attempted to start a conversation. "You are…?"

"Everyone calls me Nilesy."

Simon shrugged. "Okay… Nilesy then. And Hannah, Duncan, me (Simon) and Idiot, ok."

"It's Lewis, actually." Lewis glared at his best friend.

"That's what I said. Anyhoo, I'm guessing that you twins are Muggle-born as you were obviously lost at the station."

Owl Hat lifted an eyebrow and asked, "Muggle-born?"

"Oh yeah, you don't know about that, do you?" Lewis said hurriedly. "Muggles are non-magical people so it just means that you come from a non-magical background. There are also half-bloods and purebloods; half-bloods have some non-magical blood but purebloods have none."

"Well, yeah, then. Us two and Nilesy are all muggle borns. Are you two purebloods then?"

Simon snorted. "Definitely not purebloods… Those stuck up-"

Lewis stepped in before he could continue. "We're both half bloods, yeah. Simon's mum isn't a witch but the rest of our parents are half bloods so, although magic has always played a massive part in our lives, our blood lines are far from pure."

Scottish Boy looked worried. "Will our bein' from a non-magical background affect us at all? Yeh know, with how good we'll be in school or how people will treat us?"

"Shouldn't do. And if it does, the problem is with them and not with you." Lewis suddenly became even more curious than normal. "What was it like getting your letters? Simon and I obviously expected them and so did our parents but what was it like for you three?"

Owl Hat spoke for herself and her brother, "Our parents were obviously surprised, as were we, but they contacted the school to make sure that it wasn't just some ridiculous prank we were playing and were satisfied so here we are."

"Me mam didn't really care, to be honest. I got a grant for books and stuff and that was that." Scottish Boy shrugged. "Life, yeh know."

Lewis smiled at him. He understood that. His parents could get by but there was never an excess of money. One thing Lewis didn't understand, though, was how it was fair that Purebloods inherited so much from their families, always giving them an advantage in all aspects of life. He sighed to himself. Now really wasn't the time to bring up wizarding inequality so, instead, he asked, trying to bring back some enthusiasm: "How awesome is Diagon Alley, right?"

Owl Hat replied first, "Well, Nilesy and I thought it was awesome especially the Owl Emporium and if that's how life normally is in the wizarding world, I really cannot wait for school to start. Duncan, though… Duncan had an interesting experience; didn't you, dear brother?"

Goggles was scowling again.

"Where did you end up, Duncan? Hmm?" Her voice got lower as it got more mocking.

Her brother shifted slightly and began to laugh. "Knockturn Alley."

"Wait, what?" The reputation of Knockturn Alley was bad to say the least and both Lewis and

Simon had been given dire warnings from their parents about what would happen if they strayed down there.

As Lewis was about to question Duncan further, the door to their compartment was opened by a pale, sneering boy with a drawn out face who seemed to be flanked by, what looked like, two thuggish brutes.

"YOU were in Knockturn Alley? Did I hear you correctly, Goggles?" The pale boy drawled, his lips curling up in distaste. Lewis immediately disliked this new boy, especially as he had called the strawberry-blonde boy 'Goggles', which Lewis soon decided was not what he would be calling his new classmate.

"What's it to you?" Hannah had suddenly become very fiercely protective of her brother.

The pale boy clenched his hands into fists. "Ooh, we've got a feisty one here." But he swept out all the same, glaring at the twins, followed by his two minions.

Simon and Lewis exchanged glances whilst Duncan complained that he could stand up for himself, and Lewis really hoped that the encounter with the snobbish boy wouldn't come back to haunt him.

However, once the tension began to lift and it looked like, for the moment at least, no one was going to bother them, the conversation resumed and and they all listened and laughed as Duncan elaborated on his escapades in Knockturn Alley.

Just as Lewis was beginning to become peckish, the lunch trolley arrived bearing all of Lewis and Simon's favourite sweets and snacks (barring Muggle jaffa cakes, of course.) But as the sweet little old lady asked, "Anything from the trolley, dears?", Lewis saw the faces of the three muggle-born's faces drop in shock at the selection of the magical sweets.

He laughed and asked the lady, "Could we have a little bit of everything please? My friends are Muggle-born and so have never tried Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans or anything!"

The lady laughed back, taking some of Lewis' sickles in exchange for some of her wares."Another boy further up the train asked me the same thing earlier but he wasn't half as polite as you were. I nearly thought you were the same boy for a second."

After the lady had trotted off, Simon nudged Lewis. "Bet she was talking about Harry Potter. You know, Lewis. Your lookalike."

Lewis glared at him.

"Who's Harry Potter?" Nilesy asked, sniffing at some Drooble's Best Blowing Gum.

Simon sighed. "You would be sick of this story if you had grown up with it, you know. Well, basically, big scary wizard called You-Know-Who (everyone is frightened of his name) tried to take over and have everyone under his control but he was stopped by a little baby, Harry Potter, when You-Know-Who killed the baby's parents." Simon threw his hands up. "You-Know-Who died and the baby lived.

So the entire wizarding world worships this kid for accidentally stopping Voldemort as a baby: they worship the 'Boy-Who-Lived.'"

Lewis turned to the others. "It's a little more serious than Simon makes out - lots of people were killed and the entire world lived in fear of who would be next. But that was the gist of it." He shrugged. "We think that Potter will probably be in our year."

Hannah frowned. "I guess we have a lot to learn then. Not just at school but about your world and the lives you lead."

"Yeah, of course, but for now… look at all this food!"

They spent the greater part of the next hour eating everything that they had bought (Hannah had insisted that she and Duncan pay at least half of it). Hannah and Nilesy were very cautious of the Every Flavour Beans but Duncan dived straight in, enjoying them more and more whenever he got a weirder flavour. When the first Chocolate Frog was opened and jumped straight onto Nilesy's head, there was hilarity throughout the compartment at the priceless look on the boy's face. Lewis wished that he had a camera that could develop magical film to capture the look of amazement on all three Muggle-born's faces when they saw the moving figure of Merlin on the Chocolate Frog Card.

As they were finishing the last of the Pumpkin Pasties, they were disturbed again; this time by a bossy-mannered girl with heaps of frizzy brown hair, asking if they had seen Neville's toad (Neville turned out to be the boy behind her, sniffing and generally seeming pretty useless). Hannah promised that they would keep on looking after the other girl had admired Nilesy's cat and said that she had almost bought one but she thought it might have interfered with her studies too much. The girl then turned to leave, but not before asking, "What house do you think you'll all be in? Gryffindor sounds the best but I think Ravenclaw would be pretty good too."

"House?" Duncan raised his eyebrows (strangely similarly to his sister).

"I've heard about these," Nilesy said. "There are four, aren't there?"

"Yep. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. People tend to generalise them: Gryffindors are brave heroes, Slytherins are evil, Ravenclaws are clever and Hufflepuffs are the rest but it's a lot more complicated than that. You earn points and such in your houses I think and I believe that you live, eat and have lessons with your houses too," Lewis replied.

"Lewis and I are still going to be in Gryffindor together, aren't we, friend?" Simon nodded at Lewis as he spoke. "Yes, Lewis, we are."

Nilesy sighed. "I guess I'll be in Hufflepuff then."

"Hufflepuffs are actually awesome, though. They're hard-working, kind…" Lewis reassured him.

Hannah laughed. "That rules out Duncan then."

"Hey…"

As the afternoon wore on, the scenery that Lewis could see through the window became wilder and the sky began to darken into a dusky purple. The bossy girl returned again asking about Neville's toad and to warn them that they were getting close to the station and that they should change into their school robes.

As she left, Lewis heard Simon mutter, "Hope to God she's not in Gryffindor…"

But the bossy girl was right. Two minutes later a voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to school separately." All five of the new first years looked at each other and Lewis' excitement dissipated and was replaced by a hard knot of nerves.

They got off the train (Hannah and Nilesy having had to be persuaded to leave Mr Owl and Mr Cat in the compartment), keeping together amidst the throng of people, wondering what on earth was going to happen next. That question was answered for them, though, when a lantern appeared over their heads and a large voice bellowed out over the platform. "Firs' years! Firs' years to me!"

The voice belonged to a giant of a man with a massive black bushy beard, first years collecting around him.

"Any more firs' years?" When the man was satisfied that he had gathered all of them together, they set off down a narrow path with dense woodland packed either side of it.

Hannah let Lewis catch up with her and whispered, "Do you know what's going to happen now?"

Before he could answer, though, the giant man indicated that they would shortly see the castle of Hogwarts for the first time. And what a castle it was. Perched upon a large, rocky crag, the majestic towers twinkled in the distance and Lewis knew that he couldn't wait to explore them all.

"No more than four to a boat!"

A fleet of miniature boats sat at the water's edge in front of them and Lewis clambered in after Simon, Hannah and Nilesy (Duncan had gone to join a red-headed girl in another boat who had a boy with a rather threatening demeanour and large purple eyes sitting next to her.)

The boats set off with a shout from the giant and all the first years sat in silence, gazing up at the castle. Lewis was oblivious to to everything apart from the lights. They seemed to reach right up to the heavens and he couldn't take his eyes from them. That was until they entered a tunnel with the entrance covered in ivy, and suddenly Lewis found himself floundering in icy cold water. Thankfully, strong arms pulled him back into the boat, coughing and spluttering, and Lewis got just one glimpse of Simon's laughing face before Hannah gave Simon an almighty shove into the water.

Hannah grinned at Lewis as there was a shout of, "What's goin' on down there?" from up ahead. Lewis stared back and then smiled as he realised just how much fun he was going to have that year.


End file.
